While focused on describing the BC HARS, this document also contains general background information on heat events in B.C. and the reason for the establishment of the BC HEAT Committee. Section Two details the development of the BC HARS and describes the criteria for the two alert levels. Section Three contains tables with key messages and recommended actions for different partners and public health actors. In general, information in each table is divided into four parts: pre-season, during a Heat Warning, during an Extreme Heat Emergency, and post-season or deactivation. The final section contains links to relevant resources and appendices.

This document is intended to be used as a resource to support the province-wide implementation of the heat alert and response system in British Columbia. The recommendations in section three of this document are not prescriptive but are intended to be used as tools to initiate heat planning or to complement the creation of more robust heat response plans. Acknowledging the wide variation in local heat response planning needs, not all recommendations may be appropriate for all settings.

The audience for this BC HARS document is all levels of government and all levels of the health system involved in heat preparedness planning, emergency management partners that plan for and respond to heat events, Indigenous governing bodies and local authorities, as well as organizations that work with and interface with susceptible populations and those at greatest risk of mortality during heat events.